Raven (Corvus corax)

Spike at around 8 weeks old

Spike is a new addition to the centre for 2007. He is captive bred and two of his siblings are residents at the Tower of London. He is completely different to the other birds at the centre, but will fly and be used for display and for educational talks the same as the others.

He is already turning out to be a quite a character, he is getting into everything and playing with things.

The Raven’s Progress 2010

With his problem-solving intelligence and gift for mimicry, Spike has learnt a number of things this year by watching and listening. Studying the behaviour of the Striated Caracaras he learnt to turn over pebbles in the arena to find the food underneath.

He has also learnt to talk. He has a number of words and phrases in his repertoire Spike although he often plays hard to get when he has an attentive audience. Loving attention, he chooses to speak as people walk past – “Alright Spike!” is a particular favourite – having discovered that this simple trick will usually get the passers-by to return to his aviary in amazement. At this point he usually preens his feathers in satisfaction, refusing to say another word, so that many visitors believe they imagined it.

Recently, we decided to develop his showbirdship and stimulate him with new problems. Ringing a school bell for a treat was the first test, which he aced within minutes. Spike now flies from one end of the arena to the other to ring the bell and return for a food reward – though he does it in his own time and on his own terms, much to the amusement of his captivated audience.

Rather more challenging is the latest puzzle, which involves teaching Spike to drop stones into a container of water in order to raise the water level and reach the floating treat. So far Spike is doing a very good job of training us to drop the pebbles into the water for him!

In the wild

The Raven is a native British bird and the largest member of the corvid (crow) family.

SPECIES FACTFILE

LENGTH: 56-69cm

WINGSPAN: 115-130cm

WEIGHT: 690g - 1.6kg

EGGS IN CLUTCH: 3-7

Origin: Northern hemisphere: North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa.

Diet: They are omnivorous and diet will vary with location and season. They are mostly scavengers but also eat plant food and prey on invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and birds.

Habitat: From Arctic through temperate areas to desert. They prefer wooded areas, with large expanses of open land nearby, or coastal regions for their nesting sites and feeding grounds.

Ravens have among the largest brains of any bird species. For a bird, they display ability in problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes, such as imitation and insight.